People are constantly asking the same questions over and over, so I took it upon myself to try to write up a clearer version of the rules.

Ludum Dare is an Online Game Jam event where people from around the world create a game in a weekend.

It is actually two competitions that happen side-by side. At 9:00 pm Eastern Time (which is either UTC -4 or UTC -5 depending on daylight saving time), a theme will be announced. At which point, the 48 Hour Compo and the 72 Hour Jam will both start.

48 Hour Compo Rules

You must work alone (solo).

All images, models, textures, music, and sound must be created during the 48 hours. You cannot use any pre-existing art of any kind, whether you created it or found it online.

Games must be based on the theme in some way.

All publicly available libraries and middleware are allowed.

Yes, that means you can use plugins from the Unity Asset store like Playmaker. (But not art!)

Yes, you can use code from public wikis and tutorials.

Yes, You can use your own code libraries and project templates as long as you make them available online for other people before the competition. Make a blog post declaring your code base.

All other code must be programmed within the 48-hour window. This code must be included with your submission.

No, you don’t need to include code from middleware (often you do not have the right to do this).

This does not make your program free/open-source if you don’t want to. You retain all rights to everything.

All content creation, and development tools are allowed. (3dsmax, Photoshop, Flash, etc)

You can port your game to different platforms after the 48 hour window.

You can make small bug-fixes after the 48 hour window.

72 Hour Jam Rules

The rules are the same as the 48 hour compo except:

You can work with other people as a team.

You do not have to provide a copy of your source code.

You are free to use whatever artwork or content you like (preferably something you have the legal rights to), but you must accept all responsibility for its use.

Yes, you can use art made ahead of time.

Yes you can use public domain, creative-commons, or otherwise licensed artwork.

Games should be based on the theme. (As opposed to must be.)

Only ONE team member submits the game.

FAQ

What is the prize for winning?

There is no prize. This competition is purely for the love of programming.

Can I use language _____?

Yes, any programming language is allowed (C/Java/JavaScript/Lua/etc…) Some people have even made “games” using static HTML and others have even made printable PDFs for board/card game entries. You can make iPhone games and Web games and text-based games. Whatever you want!

Can I use a content-generator for sound/music/textures?

Yes! sfxr is a great way to generate sound effects, there are many midi-music generators (like abundant-music.com), and there are several tools to procedurally generate textures (like Substance Designer).

What about fonts, drum loops, sampled instruments?

That’s fine, as long as you have the right to use them.

Can I brand my game with my logo, even though it was made outside the competition?

Yes! Logos and intro screens are allowed.

Will Ludum Dare own my game after I make it?

No! You still retain all rights and ownership. Obviously if you are submitting your game to be judged, you are going to be implicitly allowing people to download and play it, but otherwise it’s all yours.

So I could sell my Ludum Dare game after the competition?

Sure — many people have gone on to polish up their game and then sell it!

If I submit my source code (for the Compo), won’t that make it open source?

No! You retain all rights to your software and can license it (or not) any way you would like. No one is allowed to copy your code without your permission.

If I submit my source code (for the Compo), won’t people be able to steal it?

I suppose. But you made this game in 48 hours. How good is your code going to be? Anyone who sees your game would be able to duplicate it if they really wanted to.

If you don’t want to do this, consider joining the Jam instead (which doesn’t require you to share your code).

Can I start my entry before 9:00pm Eastern Time?

No! Besides, you won’t even know what the theme is! However, if you want to setup a project “template” that launches an empty window, sets up your 2d/3d context, and includes some generic functionality, that’s allowed if you share this code publicly and declare in a post on the ludumdare.com blog. That way other people could start on the same level as you.

How can I share my code if I used [some kind of game-creation software tool]?

The safe answer is always: Zip up the whole project folder and put it online. Ideally, anyone else with the same software should be able to download your file and open it. If you don’t want to do this, consider joining the Jam instead (which doesn’t require you to share your code).

This entry was posted
on Friday, April 25th, 2014 at 1:20 pm and is filed under LD #29.
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Just to clarify this: You are not allowed to use existing sounds or music if you are participating in the compo (with the exception of drum loops and sampled instruments).

It may happen for first timers that they don’t know in which case some people switch to the Jam once they become aware of it or remove the sounds in question. With this sticky post it should become unlikely that someone doesn’t know (which is the reason I am writing it again this clearly).

I’ve been always wondering, are visual based engines only usable in the jam and not the compo. i.e Construct 2 has very little to do with actual coding and is mostly based on preset events, so is the source (project) file acceptable?

Just to clarify, things like Game Maker / Construct 2 are usable in BOTH the compo AND the jam. I’ve been using Game Maker to make Ludum Dare games for years. As long as you include the source code (ie, the file(s) before compiling that can be opened with the editor), it’s perfectly okay. Have fun!

I’m calling shenanigans on (subjectively) 80% of declared code “libraries” and “frameworks”, especially if they’re undocumented and thrown in just hours before the compo. There is no realistic chance anyone will use them besides their author.

I guess you’re right, it doesn’t matter in the end. But why then have the rule about making everything yourself in 48 hours to begin with? And why bother declaring something for other people to use if they can’t actually use it? I mean it’s just an empty gesture at this point when a lot of people seem to start with their own code base anyway, maybe the rules should just officially allow that.

Whatever, I don’t really have skin in this particular issue, I just thought it’s gotten pretty strange with all these “base code” declarations.

At the risk of aggravating you, that’s not how the rules explain it. Besides, nobody’s going to remember that declaration blog post when they’re rating a game – for that you’ll have to include the declaration again in the description text of the actual game submission form.

For me the 48 hours are more about having fun together making games as a community in a certain time frame. With massive frameworks like Unity around, personal libraries are a bit of a non issue anyway.

Personally I like to see how people made things. Plus I imagine an ocean of personal libraries might always bud a framework that makes this rule worth it.

I absolutely agree. It’s not so much that I think pre-made games are a problem, I was just bewildered at the amount of people doing it and this rules post seemed like a good place to bring it up, since this was specifically addressed in it.

However, it’s obviously one of these “in the real world nobody cares” rules and I’d like to make it clear that I’m not actually upset about how it’s handled in practice. I mean, whatever enables people to get the most fun out of the event is absolutely fine.

If that’s the case, I call shenanigans on anyone using Unity, GameMaker, and the like. And for that matter, anyone making a game in machine code or assembly could say the same of us normal programmers.

I think if some people are able to use fully-equipped GUI-based tools to make a game, we should be able to get a head start by using our own personal libraries.

-“You can make small bug-fixes after the 48 hour window” might need more clarification for some people.

-Statements like “for the love of programming” and “any programming language is allowed” might make people think they can’t use Game Maker or Stencyl or Construct 2. Your wording should probably be more inclusive.

You say this but I know of 2 games last time that used Music they created months before when I struggled the last 2 hours for music and finally went without. Then you just told them it was fine … :/ kinda lame, but I do it for myself

Something I’ve been wondering, I know I can use photos and audio or video recordings of objects, but what about other people? Can I have my friends voice characters in my game if I tell them what to say?

I think the spirit of the rules is meant to cover two things: 1) The content is created during the competition in order to create a level playing field, and 2) The content is created by you to ensure that you have the legal rights to use it.

So…some other source could ‘produce’ the sound, as long as you are the one who *records it, edits it and puts it into the game*.

(And of course, for the Jam this isn’t really an issue because the rules are less stringent.)

I actually have a question that isn’t covered here. What’s the policy on mentally preparing games for each of the possible themes before the competition begins (no coding or anything, just semi detailed ideas)?
Obviously this sort of thing can’t be enforced as strictly against the rules, but is it kind of frowned upon?

I will use a custom game engine, which is currently in closed alpha and we plan to sell it in the future, so I will not provide it or its source and I may have to do bug fixes and feature changes and additions during the compo.
In some way it will be available to the public later this year, so I am wondering if I will break the rules with this as they clearly state: “You can use your own code libraries and project templates as long as you make them available online for other people before the competition.”
I did make a blogpost though…

Hey everyone, just a quick question about this. What exactly falls under “as long as you make them available online for other people before the competition.”. I only just decided that I would like to use a library that is made by a friend of mine. While he hasn’t released the library as library per se, it is included in several of our projects. Does that count as being available online before the competition, or should I have shared it before the competition?

You are allowed to generate/make your own music for the compo using sounds that you have not made? for example if I go to a website, generate music, and put it in my game, it is allowed?

If that IS allowed then would I be allowed to generate the music IN my game? It would require loading in sound files that I have not created but it will sound just like the music I can make but it will be different everytime…

Sorry if I worded this badly, I can clarify if need be. English is only my first language.

This is my 6’th Ludum Dare and I still not sure about timer. Do I need to submit game before times ends? In Poland it’s middle of night and after not sleeping 48h I’m afraid to fall asleep and miss submitting. How does it work?

You need to submit before the time runs out. You probably should submit an hour or two before, because the website often goes down around that time.

Also, it is a bad idea to work for 48 hours straight. Get at least 8 hours of sleep. T+0h is 03:00 AM where I am, so I normally get up at 08:00 AM (T+5h) on Saturday, sleep from 1AM to 9AM on Sunday (T+29h), then work until 3AM on Monday.

Hello, I’m interested in trying to participate to this Ludum Dare but these comments confused me a bit.
I would like to create a game which is partially based upon a song ; so I would like to put this song as the soundtrack of my game, but I do not own it, I just bought it. Can I use it anyway for the LD Jam ? I would credit it, of course, and won’t make any profit with my game.

“You are free to use whatever artwork or content you like (preferably something you have the legal rights to), but you must accept all responsibility for its use.”

For the JAM this kind of use would not be against the rules, as they are written. In particular note that,

“Yes you can use public domain, creative-commons, or otherwise licensed artwork.”

Be proud to remix culture! Just make sure you are polite and respectful to the original artist, that you acknowledge them, and that make sure to let them know you are using their work in your work (I’m sure they will be thrilled!).

Sooo all freely available libraries are allowed but art is not..
Then where does this place photoshop brushes that are freely available on the usual sites one gets PS brushes, but not part of the default PS?

Just one thing I’d like to bring up. What about adding new controls (gamepads, touch) after deadline to a HTML5 game? Technically it is adding a feature but it feels more like porting to the same game to other input methods and so devices.

Just assume that the author didn’t know any better and write a remark in your comments notifying him that you can’t give a high score on graphics/music/whatever because he didn’t make it in the 48 hours.

Am I allowed to make 2 games and put both of them in one .zip file (and my title would be for example “game1 and game2″), I mean I saw a guy made 50 mini games and put them in one .zip file but I am not sure?

This is so beautiful, THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Especially this>”All publicly available libraries and middleware are allowed.
Yes, that means you can use plugins from the Unity Asset store like Playmaker. (But not art!)
Yes, you can use code from public wikis and tutorials.
Yes, You can use your own code libraries and project templates as long as you make them available online for other people before the competition. Make a blog post declaring your code base.”

I still think that free music should be allowed, but hey, I’m already glad with this explanation.

I’m going to be traveling for the last 8-10 hours of the compo, there’s a possibility that I’ll be able to upload the game at the airport when I land, but it really depends. My question is, is it acceptable to upload an update that you made during the deadline, after the deadline?

The only reference I see that fits this is the “All other code must be programmed within the 48-hour window,” which seems to indicate that as long as it’s produced during the compo I could upload it later. I know that there’s the restriction that submissions will end, but if I upload a version beforehand and then polish on the airplane, can I upload my polished version late as long as I finished it before the deadline?

Sooo all freely available libraries are allowed but art is not..
Then where does this place photoshop brushes that are freely available on the usual sites one gets PS brushes, but not part of the default PS?

The difference between clipart and brushes is that clipart is content (which isn’t allowed), while a brush might be considered a tool (which is fine). If your brush looks like content (e.g. these eye brushes: http://www.photoshopwebsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/image80.png), don’t use it. In the end, it’s up to you to decide whether you think using a certain brush is reasonable.

I must say, thanks for posting that music generator.It saves me the time it’d take to “randomly generate” it myself (I usually just hum randomly and record it, throwing any catchy bits that go well together into a song). Definitely gives me more faith in procedural generation (all the other music generators I’ve heard are horrible…)

Exactly how big are the bugs we’re allowed to fix? My GameMaker has decided it cannot convert audio… so my game is completely silent and I don’t have time to fix it (I’ve been asking around everywhere).

If I create all the audio and demonstrate that it’s been created during the time… is that acceptable?

I have a question regarding SoundFonts. SoundFonts are like character fonts except they render notes for midi files (i.e. a piano SoundFont will make a midi piano instrument sound more like a piano). I’m looking into using SoundFonts in the next LD to enhance the midi music that is procedurally generated by abundant-music.com. Do SoundFonts fall into the same rules as character fonts, where I may prepare them before hand if I have a license/rights to use them?